In Utter Darkness
by Sakrosankt
Summary: In face of death, Naruto Uzumaki offered something in exchange for life: himself. "We are but two sides of the same coin. Two very different people, with the same face. He is Uzumaki Naruto, the person. I am Uzumaki Naruto, the monster. Pick your poison." Dual personalities with Naruto and Kurama. Slightly Dark!
1. Chapter 1: In Utter Darkness

How's it going ? Sakrosankt here with a brand new story, In Utter Darkness.

Warning: Mild swearing and slightly graphic scenes. Be prepared.

Without further ado, please enjoy!

"Speaking."

_'Thinking.'_

**"Bijuu speaking."**

**_'Bijuu thinking.'_ **

* * *

Chapter 1: In Utter Darkness

"Haha! Look at Uzumaki! He's so stupid! Haha!" Naruto grunted as he blocked another punch from his opponent: a boy the same age as him. They were surrounded by their fellow orphanage members as the crowd created a ring where he and the other boy fought until he dropped. Or at least, that's what the others expected. At 7 years of age, he was shorter and thinner than average, and his small stature proved disadvantageous in his fight against the other boy who stood half a head taller. "Get him, Keigo!"

Keigo reeled his hand back and prepared to punch Naruto in the gut, leaving his front exposed. He wasn't prepared for the smaller boy to retaliate with a swift jab to the face.

"Agh!" Keigo lost his balance, and as he tumbled to the floor, the ring growing larger to accommodate his fall. He landed with a _thud_ when his back hit the hardwood floor. "You're dead Uzumaki!"

As Keigo tried to sit back up, Naruto leapt onto the boy's chest and smashed the back of Keigo's head back onto the ground, eliciting a series of "Oohs" and "Ahs". Naruto brought his fist down on the boy's face, aiming for his jaw. Despite the easy hits, Naruto's lack of strength made it difficult for him to do any serious damage. Only a few bruises appeared on Keigo's cheeks.

"Get up Keigo! Beat Uzumaki up! He's weak!" The crowd seemed to raise Keigo's confidence and morale as he pushed Naruto off in a burst of strength. Getting up from the savage beating, Keigo leapt at the blonde and delivered a swift blow to the gut. And as Naruto doubled over in pain, Keigo delivered a kick to the side. This time, it was Naruto who hit the hardwood floor in pain.

Quickly recovering, he managed to scramble some sort of guard as Keigo threw another punch. Blocking it with his arm caused him to take a few steps back to regain his balance. Once again, the ring grew larger to give the two combatants more space.

'_I need to catch him off guard. He needs to reel his hand back for another punch. That'll leave him exposed again.'_

Naruto let down his guard to bait the larger boy's punch. Seeing that action, Keigo reeled back to deliver a powerful punch that would probably end the fight if it landed, yet Keigo fell right into Naruto's trap. As Keigo drew back, Naruto gave another swift jab at his face, yet this time, Keigo didn't fall over. Anticipating that move, Keigo took a large step back to keep himself steady. He expected the boy to leap at him like before. What he didn't expect, however, was the swift kick to the groin.

"What! Agh!" As Keigo doubled over, clutching his groin, Naruto brought his knee up, and smashed it into Keigo's face. A sickening _crunch_ could be heard as his hard kneecap came into contact with the other boy's nose.

"Ahh! Blood!" A girl screamed as the ring began to dissipate, the crowd, slowly backing off. The girl pointed to Keigo's battered form on the floor, one hand on his groin and the other in front of his face. Blood seeped from the cracks in his hands – the ones on his face – indicating a broken nose.

Naruto walked up and over the broken body of the boy he had just fought, his own body covered in splotches of purple: heavy bruising. He snarled at the crowd and bared is teeth. With his mangled clothes and bloodied knuckles, he gave off a menacing aura that caused the crowd to separate and allow him through. They were scared, and they should be.

XXXX

'_What is happening to me…'_ Naruto sat alone on his large cot, staring at his hands. The orphanage dormitories were two per room, but nobody wanted to room with Uzumaki Naruto. In fact, nobody wanted to get anywhere near him, hence the empty rooms to the left and right. _'Why does it hurt so much…'_

It wasn't a physical pain. He had suffered physical abuse plenty of times, either to bullies or adults who would lash out at him when he made a mistake. No, what he felt was a deep seated pain in his chest, one that was pulling and threatening to rip his heart out from the inside. In his mind, he saw the broken body of Keigo, clutching himself in pain, the sheer terror on his face when he looked at Naruto. They called him a monster. Perhaps he was one.

Yelling in frustration, he punched the brick walls of his room. The hard surface only proved to damage his already bruiser knuckles, causing them to bleed as the hard stone cut into his skin. Yet he felt nothing. His mind, too clouded with thoughts of his actions, could not register his nerves as he bashed away at the wall. _'As if it was Keigo's face.'_ And he could see the face of Keigo on the wall, the small crack, right where Keigo's nose should be.

'_This is sick. Why do they keep coming for me? If they would just stop, nobody would get hurt. Not me, not them.'_ A tear began to form in the corner of his eye: the loneliness was consuming. _'All the parents hate me. Anyone who tries to be my friend ends up learning I'm a monster and leaves. Anyone who tries to fight me only gets hurt. Everyone else is just afraid.'_

He curled up on his cot and wept for himself, and within minutes, he was asleep.

XXXX

"Hey, Uzumaki!" Naruto turned around to see a group of boys approaching him. He was in the orphanage cafeteria, sitting in his corner alone. From the looks of it, the group consisted of kids that were much larger than Keigo. _'They must be the teens of the orphanage. They never come down here.'_ With the orphanage built by layers with older children on the higher levels, Naruto never expected one of the older kids to come down. It's not like it wasn't allowed. It's just that nobody wants to associate with those much younger than them.

"What do you want?" Naruto spat back before continuing his meal of poorly made tasteless soup. He brought the bowl up to drink, but it was knocked out of his hands. The bowl dropped and smashed into pieces as it hit the floor, the shards of glass scratched the hardwood.

"I know what you did to Keigo." Naruto glared at the boy who addressed him. The older boy stood a foot taller and looked much bulkier. If he was going to fight, he was probably going to lose. Not only was his body at a complete disadvantage, the bruises and injuries he suffered from Keigo were still there. He might heal fast, but one night wasn't enough to wash away all his injuries. His muscles were still sore from the fight. "You know who I am?"

Naruto shook his head. He didn't know anybody older than him. Other than meeting with the Hokage and the occasional doctor, he didn't go out much.

"The name's Nobu. Ever heard of it?" Naruto shook his head again. Whoever this person was, he must have been hot shit in the older groups if he thought his reputation would spread down to the younger kids. "I'm Keigo's brother, and the strongest person in this orphanage."

'_Oh crap.'_ Naruto mentally cursed. It seems like Keigo talked to his older brother about the fight and now his brother was here to exact revenge. This was going to be bad.

Nobu grabbed Naruto's shirt and brought him off the ground, the younger boy's legs flailed desperately to hit his attacker. Laughing, Nobu threw Naruto onto the ground, the latter landing on the ground in a twisted heap.

"This is for breaking my little brother's nose!" Before Naruto could even recover, Nobu kicked him in the stomach. With the strength of a boy twice Naruto's age, Nobu delivered a kick with enough force to completely knock the wind straight out of the injured boy. Naruto rolled on his back and clutched his stomach in pain. "You broke his nose so it's only fitting that I break your face."

Nobu jumped onto Naruto and straddled the younger boy's bottom half before reeling back and throwing a powerful punch at the younger boy's face. Naruto's head snapped to the side as his cheeks felt the impact from Nobu's hook. Another one came, this time from the other side. And another. And another. He could feel blood rushing into his mouth as Nobu savagely beat the boy's jaw. By the time it was over, Naruto's jaw had turned black from internal bleeding and was so swollen he could no longer talk.

"And this. This is so you'll never do anything like that again." Naruto gurgled with a mouthful of blood as his eyes locked onto Nobu's hand. Or more specifically, the object in his hand. Nobu had grabbed a long shard of glass from the broken plate. The sharp edges dug into Nobu's hand, drawing small streams of blood, but the older boy didn't seem to care. The damage it would do to Naruto far outweighed any injury that the older boy would sustain. "Now let's see, where should we put this?"

Naruto's eyes widened in fear. _'And they called me a monster.'_ Was he going to die? Perhaps it was for the best. He had nothing to live for, nobody to care for. He merely passed each day with a single purpose in mind: survive. That was it. As long as he could see the next day. The only dream he ever had was to be a ninja of Konoha, a member of the elite force that kept the city safe. The elite force that operated under his only benefactor, the Hokage himself. Yet not all was meant to be, it seems. _'So this is the end.'_

Nobu clutched the shard of glass and brought it down on the fallen boy. A maniacal grin was plastered on the older boy's face as the shard descended into the flesh of the younger one, and the only scream was drowned out by a series of boisterous laughter from the rest of the older gang.

Naruto's vision blurred and before he could register what happened, the right side of his vision disappeared. Completely stunned and unaware, Naruto's left eye turned to his right, but was blocked by a giant shard of glass, embedded in the socket of his right eye. He froze. Time seemed to stop as his mind tried to register everything that had happened. He had been stabbed; stabbed in his right eye. That's why he lost vision. That was why half of his field of view turned black. Because he had lost an eye.

And soon, the rest of his vision disappeared as well as he sank into unconsciousness. Only a small laughing could be heard, but it was faint and seemed far away. He slipped into the darkness.

XXXX

Naruto awoke, only to sputter and choke as a flood of water entered his lungs. Coughing, he spit out the inhaled water and stood up, only to realize he had both fields of vision. More exploration allowed him to discover his jaw was completely unhurt and in perfect condition. _'What in the world?'_

As he analyzed his surroundings, he deduced he was in the tunnels of a sewer system. Which means the water he had inhaled was probably sewage. _'Yuck.'_ Ignoring the fact, he looked around for any signs of Nobu or his gang, yet all he saw was the long stretch of the tunnel. One end had been blocked off by collapsed rubble, forming an impassable barrier. Whatever this was, it only gave him one route to go in.

Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, Naruto was brought to a dark room with barely any lighting. The high ceilings disappeared into the darkness and the hanging light bulbs on barely illuminated the spacious enclosure. As he stepped in, he felt something different, something off. As if another person was nearby. He looked up, only to see two gleaming eyes and a rows full of razor sharp teeth.

"Ah! What the hell!" Completely startled, he screamed as he fell backwards, onto the wet floor.

"**Welcome to my humble abode, warden."**The voice sent a shiver of fear down Naruto's spine.

"W-w-who…?" Naruto could barely speak with his entire body shaking at the thing before him.

"**Speak."** It spoke with authority and conviction. Steeling his nerves, Naruto stood up and tried again.

"Who are you?" His question only elicited a deep booming laugh that resonated and echoed through the chamber.

"**I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune, although I expected you to at least know your tenants." **

'_Kyuubi.'_ That single word struck fear into the hearts of everyone in Konoha. Not even a decade ago, the demon had rampaged through the village and had caused the death of many of the finest shinobi the world had ever seen, including the Yondaime Hokage. What was perhaps one of the greatest entities to have ever existed doing in a sewer?

Yet the boy's largest source of confusion came from the names the Kyuubi used for himself and Naruto. _'Warden? Tenants? This doesn't make any sense…'_

"Aren't you…dead?" The boy had been told the Yondaime had defeated the fox in glorious combat, ending with the loss of both lives. Perhaps it made sense. If the fox was dead, and he's meeting the fox, then it must mean that he must be dead as well. His hand reached up and covered is right eye, remembering the attack from Nobu and his gang. "I was stabbed. If you're dead, and I'm meeting you, then I must be dead too."

"**Come here…"** Naruto looked at the visage of the fox before taking a few steps forward. As he moved closer, the darkness began to clear and he could make out hundreds of lines stretching from the ground into the darkness of the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, Naruto saw that they were steel bars. **"Yes, come and let me show you just how dead we are!"**

Upon taking another step closer to the fox, Naruto's instincts sent warnings throughout his entire body, causing him to take a step backwards, and none too soon. A blur of orange appeared in Naruto's vision and was followed by a resonating _clang!_ A giant paw had lashed out at the boy, only to be stopped inches from his face by the steel bars.

"**Lucky."** The fox retracted his paw as the row of teeth twisted into what seemed like a smirk. **"To answer your question, no. We are not dead."**

Not dead. At least that was a reliever. If not in the afterlife, then where? The fox seemed to read Naruto's mind as it answered his question.

"**We are in your mind. More specifically, the seal."**

"What seal?"The fox let out a sigh and mentally slapped his face with his paw. Perhaps the boy was truly unaware of the circumstances of his condition.

"**Your Yondaime couldn't kill me. That's impossible. I am chakra incarnate. No, what he did was much worse. He sealed me into you."** The fox rose one paw and pointed to something in the air. Naruto raised his head and saw two giant handles, connected together with a padlock. On the padlock was a piece of paper with intricate designs and symbols crisscrossing and weaving in strange ways Naruto had never seen before; the seal.

"What in Kami's name?"

"**Now you understand? I am trapped in this infernal cage – your body. I can't get out, I can't escape, I can't do anything!" **The fox grabbed the bars and rattled them in an attempt to rip them from the ground. Despite a bijuu's strength, the bars remained fixed.

"What happens to you if I die?" Naruto recalled Nobu's attack and how his eye and beaten face were spewing blood across the floor. He was surprised the shard didn't kill him outright, but it was nothing to complain about. He might live for another few hours, but it seemed bad. "I'm dying, aren't I?"

"**That you are. If you die with me sealed? Well, shit. I'll probably reincarnate after a long time. Your Yondaime's Shiki Fujin is a strange one, indeed. It hinders my ability to reform, although given a century or two I'd be back."**

"Is that why you tried to kill me?"

"**This seal won't let me kill you, even if I tried. Even if I wanted to, these steel bars will hold me back. Unless of course, you let me out…"** He trailed off.

"And why would I do that?"

"**Because you're dying. Because as we speak, you are lying on the floor bleeding to death while Nobu and his goons laugh as you slip away. Now tell me, why wouldn't you?"**

"You'll attack the village again, won't you? You'll kill everyone here."

"**Maybe, but I never planned to attack Konoha. Blame the man with the Sharingan: Uchiha Madara. But I might get a little bit of revenge for keeping me in here for 7 years."**

"How about Nobu and his gang?" The fox raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"**Is that an offering?"**

"Save me. Protect me, and I'll let you kill my enemies."

The fox laughed at the deal. He would gain some freedom in exchange for the blood of a few bullies. Easiest bargain he was going to get.

"**And I want your eye. Your damaged one."** The fox's claw pointed at Naruto's right eye.

"Why would you want that?"

"**You're blind in that eye. It doesn't matter what I do to heal it. It doesn't matter what any of your medical ninja do. It's gone. What I can do, however, is give you one of mine."**

"What? Are you serious?"

"**But of course. Think of it like a memoire of our deal. Give me enemies, and I'll give you sight. Stop fighting, and you'll stop seeing."**

If the Kyuubi was going to allow him to see another day, then it would be well worth the price. He was even getting sight back. What more could he possibly ask for. "Deal."

"**Then come."** This time, the Kyuubi held out a paw and beckoned Naruto to come closer. Naruto grabbed a sharp claw and pulled himself onto the fox's palm.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto addressed himself and bowed.

"**Kurama."** And Naruto saw only darkness as he was brought into the cage. **"This is our covenant."**

XXXX

Nobu stopped laughing as he felt an intense wave of pressure push him and his gang to their knees. He turned to see Naruto getting up, and pulling the glass out of his eye. A red aura enveloped his body as the Kyuubi's chakra poured out. **"Assuming direct control."**

"**You are Nobu, correct?"** The Kyuubi didn't even need to ask. From the blood on his clothes and hands, it was quite obvious this boy was the perpetrator.

"Who are you?"

"**Me? I'm Uzumaki Naruto. He was the one who wanted your blood, but I'm the one who's going to take it."**

And the room was filled with high pitched screams and shouts as the floor and tables were painted a crimson red.

* * *

Whoo! That was intense. If you've gotten this far, then it means you're ready to handle anything I dish out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review and comment on anything. Your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies -. Whoops. That last one shouldn't have been there. Anyways, I'll be waiting on your input. Tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading!  
P.S. Cookie for anyone who gets a reference I made in this chapter and where it's from.

-Sakrosankt


	2. Chapter 2: Repercussions

How's it going ? Sakrosankt here with Chapter 2 of In Utter Darkness.

This chapter's a lot lighter than the last, and it's less intense. Enjoy!

"Speaking."

_'Thinking.'_

**"Bijuu speaking."**

**_'Bijuu thinking.'_**

* * *

Chapter 2: Repercussions

Naruto stirred as rays of light passed through the window and onto his face. He twisted and turned in bed before cracking open an eye, only to be blinded by the sun.

"Agh. What's going on?" He sat up and rubbed his eyes, noticing the strange texture on the right side of his face. _'The hell?'_ He felt around the right side of his face and traced the smooth cloth around his face: a bandage. Why was there a bandage on his right eye? Didn't the Kyuubi agree to give him his sight back? _'Did he go back on the deal?'_

The thought was met with a laugh that resonated in the back of his head. _**'Fool. I don't back out of my agreements. You might have my eye, but you can't use it yet. You–'**_

'_What! Then what was the point in giving me your stupid eye!'_ Naruto mentally yelled in frustration. Now that this happened, it didn't seem like a very good deal after all.

'_**Silence! You dare to spit on the gift that I have bestowed upon you?'**_Naruto could hear the fox growl and bang against the steel cage. _**'I should kill you like I did the others!'**_

'_Ha, but you can't! You told me that yourself. Now tell me how to use this thing.'_

'_**If your stupid mouth could just shut up and stop interrupting me, you would have learned that the secret is chakra.'**_ With that, the Kyuubi ended the conversation. Naruto could still feel the bijuu in the back of his mind, but the fox was ignoring any attempts at further interaction.

Naruto grumbled before sitting up and looking around, noticing the various medical equipment hung along the walls. _'Oh, I'm in the hospital again.'_ Recalling the brutal attack by Nobu and his goons, Naruto cracked his neck and rubbed his jaw. Still sore, but fully functional.

Getting up, he went to grab the hospital gown that hung next to the bed, but to no avail. When he reached for it, he realized he was still much too far from the clothes to actually have gotten it; with only one eye, his lack of depth perception made it difficult to maneuver and handle things. With a little more effort, he managed to grab the sickly green cloth and drape it over his skin as he moved towards the door. He yelled in frustration as his hand missed the doorknob.

"Gah! This is so annoying! Stupid furball said to use chakra." Opening the door, he stormed outside to find the only person he knew who could help: the Hokage. "What the hell is chakra?"

XXXXX

"Hokage-san, this situation must be dealt with." Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in the council room as Shimura Danzo stood up and relayed his concerns. "The public is in an uproar. They think the Kyuubi is back."

"I know, but what do you expect me to do. I've checked the seal and it's completely undamaged. I've called for Jiraiya's expertise just in case. He'll be here within a day." Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose before taking another whiff of his pipe; the stress was killing him.

"Then let him be judged under Konoha law. It's only fitting." This time, the speaker was one of the civilian representatives. Mutters of agreement filled the room.

"If he is judged by Konoha law, then he'll be sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment, if not death."

"Then it will be his punishment for committing such a crime." It was the most logical and most fair of any decision he could make, but it would only end with the death of a young boy, and Sarutobi Hiruzen was not prepared to sentence a seven year old to death.

"No, I will not do that to him. He deserves every right to live a proper childhood. After what he's done for the village, it's only right if he lives."

"He killed 8 children! It wasn't a scuffle, it wasn't a fight! It was a bloody massacre! And everybody knows it's _him_. There's no way he's getting out of this one unscathed." The Sandaime eyed to man who was speaking: another civilian.

"You make it seem like you want him dead." The Hokage leaned forward and glared at the man, only to have the other man stare straight back. His next words caused the Hokage to boil with rage.

"Well let's be honest. We'd all sleep better knowing he wasn't here."

"Fool! You understand nothing of what he's done! Be glad you're a civilian of Konoha or else you'd be dead this very instant." Hiruzen's words were laced with venom as he poured out a menacing aura that caused many in the room to cringe and shudder in fear. Only the experienced shinobi were unaffected by the wave of killing intent.

"That's enough." Danzo walked up and placed his hand on Sarutobi's shoulder before pointing his wooden cane at the man who envoked the Hokage's wrath. His face was pale yet gleaming with sweat as his entire body shook uncontrollably. Evidently, the Hokage and directed all of his wrath towards the one man. Nodding, the Hokage took a breath to calm himself before sitting back down. "Now, I may have a solution to your predicament."

When Danzo had a plan, it usually involved his own benefits, and so, Sarutobi Hiruzen was rather wary of the plot.

"Give him to me, and I'll make sure he's kept alive."

"Alive? Do you think your Root members are actually alive? They're mindless killing machines."

"Then he will be welcome." This time, Hiruzen turned to glare at Danzo. "My apologies, I didn't meant it to sound like an insult. Merely a fact."

The Hokage buried his face in his hands. On one hand, he could give Naruto to Danzo, which would ultimately end with Naruto becoming a mindless machine sent to destroy the enemies of Konoha, or he could give Naruto to the public and have him be judged by law; with the way he's viewed, Naruto would surely be executed. There was just no possible way out of it.

"I shall tell you my decision by the end of the week."

"Agreed, and if you do not, then I shall find him myself." Hiruzen looked down before nodding solemnly. There must be some way out that didn't end horribly. He would have to continue thinking.

"Meeting adjourned."

XXXXX

"Oh Naruto, what have you gotten yourself into…" Hiruzen took another whiff of his pipe, hoping the smoke would alleviate the stress and calm his nerves. He looked outside the window at the Hokage Monument, his eyes resting on that of Namikaze Minato. "Minato, what would you do…"

"It's about Nobu, isn't it?" The Hokage spun around and saw a single cerulean blue eye stare straight back at him.

"Naruto, how'd you get here? I had ANBU stationed everywhere in the hospital. They should've notified me when you were released." Naruto only laughed before sitting on the desk.

"Those guys were easy to avoid. If you're me, then you can go anywhere you want without being caught." He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Despite the gloating, Hiruzen knew it to be true. How else could the boy pull off pranks left and right? "But what's going to happen. You know, with Nobu."

"Tell me, how much do you remember." Naruto looked down at the floor, replaying the event in his mind. While the Kyuubi may have been in control, Naruto could observe everything. It was like watching a movie – he could see, but couldn't control. So when the Kyuubi decided to go slaughtering all of his attackers, Naruto could feel the blood on his hands and hear their screams as he clawed through their flesh.

"Everything." A tear dripped down his face. He may have lived another day, but once again, more people were hurt. This time, they paid with the ultimate price: their lives, and he remembered it all.

"Why'd you do it?" Naruto looked at the man he thought of as a grandfather. Would he too, turn and hate like all the others? Would he too, call Naruto a monster? It wasn't like it never happened. Many kids in the orphanage who had once merely neglected him became scared after seeing him defeat each opponent in his way. And now this.

"I…" Tears welled up as he forced himself not to cry. His greatest fear was losing the Hokage, and becoming completely alone. Hiruzen, sensing his distraught, leaned forward and gave the boy a hug.

"Speak. I will not judge. I'll protect you. I just need to know why." His words seemed to allay the boy's fear as the blonde took a deep breath before speaking.

"They attacked me. He came for me because I beat his brother. I didn't want to fight, but he pushed me down and kicked me. Then he started punching left and right. I just wanted to run, but he kept me down… and then…" Naruto trailed off as he brushed his hand against the bandage. Looking up at the Hokage, the old man nodded in understanding. "And it was dark. That's when I met _him._"

"Who?" Naruto looked at the ANBU standing in the room. The Hokage motioned for privacy, causing the guard in the room as well as the two hidden ones to exit. He motioned for the boy to continue, now that they were alone.

"The Kyuubi."

"…" This was not expected, although it would explain the sudden influx of the Kyuubi's chakra. _'Naruto met the Kyuubi. Oh dear.'_ "So I take it you know?"

Naruto nodded, understanding the reference to his _condition._

"I never wanted to keep it from you, but you're young. You deserved to live a normal childhood, and knowing you're the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi would not have let it been possible. I'm sorry." The old man bowed his head towards the boy.

"It's okay, Hokage-jiji. I forgive you." Naruto flashed the Hokage one of his trademark smiles and laughed. "It was a surprise at first, but now I understand why people don't want to talk to me. It's fine though, I bet I'll meet lots of new people in the future, and I'll have loads of friends!"

As Naruto laughed to himself about the prospects of his future, Sarutobi Hiruzen broke a little inside. _'Such a burning will of fire, only to be snuffed out in the coming week. Life is cruel.''_

"I'm not going to give you up." Naruto turned and raised his only visible eyebrow. He looked at the Hokage as if the old man had grown multiple heads.

"What are you talking about?"

"After the death of Nobu and his friends, the public have been in an uproar. They've been filing complaints," he motioned to the piles of paperwork on his desk, "and they've been asking for one thing."

"And what's that?"

"A trial. A trial by Konoha law in which you will be judged by the people, for the people. The only thing is, there will only be one outcome, and I'm sure you know what that is." Naruto looked down and slightly nodded. If he was to be judged by the public, the very same public that hated him and made his life difficult, then their verdict would only end poorly for him.

"The other option isn't much better. I would give you to Danzo and let him train you as one of his Root ANBU. The only problem there, is that those that come out of his program are killing machines. They have no emotion. They have no future, they have no past, and they have no name. They're only tools that Danzo uses to defeat our enemies, and I'm not going to let you suffer through the same fate."

"Then what do I do?"

"I don't know. I honestly, can't think of anything, but we have a week to figure something out." The Hokage blew another puff of smoke out of his pipe, ransacking his brain for any possible loophole in the problem. "A good student of mine is coming tomorrow to take a look at your seal. Kyuubi's chakra was leaking, and we think the seal might be damaged."

"**The seal is fine. You're wasting your time old man." **Hiruzen snapped his head up and looked at the source of the voice. It was Naruto's voice, just a little deeper and rougher. **"Surprised?"**

'_What the hell?'_ Sarutobi stood up from his chair as he looked at the boy sitting on his desk. The bandage had been removed from his right eye, and placed over his left. The medical report had said he would completely lose vision in the damaged eye, so why was there a perfectly healthy eye staring back at him? However, it didn't seem quite the same. Whereas the boy's eyes were originally a vibrant hue of bright blue, the right eye was colored a dark ocean blue with wisps of red around the iris, mixing with the blue to form a violet gradient. The bright smile and wide grin was now replaced with a sinister smirk.

"Who are you?"

"**Me? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, aren't I? I can't believe you don't recognize me. You must be getting old to have forgotten only after 7 years."** _7 years._ What had happened in 7 years? _'That's right. Naruto was born. Minato died, and so did Kushina. All because of the Kyuubi.'_

"No." There was no possible way that the fox could have gotten control of the boy. If the fox was out of the seal, then why was the seal currently undamaged? Had Minato made a mistake?"

"**Aw, but you know it to be true. That's right, **_**Hokage-sama**_**, it's me. Uzumaki Naruto. Or should I say, the one inside him."** At the sound of the name, the Hokage burst forth and pinned the boy to the ground.

"What are you doing here?" The Hokage readied himself for a battle.

"**Ouch. I was not expecting that. Lower your hand. Hitting me means you're hitting poor little Naruto as well."** The fox laughed as Hiruzen lowered his fist, although the Hokage kept him pinned on the floor.

"I'll ask you one more time. What are you doing here?"

"**Me? Well, I'm here because Naruto is here. Being in the same body, if he's here, then I'm here. Common sense, anybody?"**

"Are you here to attack the village again?" Hiruzen prepared himself for the worst. With his armor donned every day underneath his Hokage robes, he was ready for any battle that might ensue. If anything, he was prepared to do what Minato had done before and seal the demon once more.

"**Why does everybody think I attacked Konoha? Please. Get your facts straight before jumping to any conclusions. Then again I supposed I **_**did **_**attack, didn't I? Well, I never **_**wanted**_** to attack Konoha and unless your village became a breeding ground for hate and darkness, I'd never even need to step foot on your land. No, don't blame me. Blame the man with the Sharingan. Blame Uchiha Madara."**

"Madara's dead. He's been dead for a long time."

"**Then there's a man with the Sharingan running around who calls himself Uchiha Madara." **That fact was rather strange. Why would there be anyone calling himself Uchiha Madara, knowing that the actual Madara died in battle against Hashirama.

"Why should I believe you? If I let you go, how do I know you're not going to destroy Konoha."

"**Ha! That was the same thing Naruto asked me when we first met. Is my reputation **_**that **_**bad around here? Destroy Konoha? Lovely."**

"This is not a joke! Answer me, or I'll seal you back into the hell you spawned from."

"**Why won't I attack? Because **_**that**_** was not part of the deal."**

"What deal?"

"**The deal I struck with the boy. How else do you think I'm here?"**

"Where is he?"

"**In the seal."** Suddenly, the fox was lifted from the ground and thrown across the room where he crashed into the wall. The Hokage was by him in an instant, his arm, digging into the fox's neck.

"Explain." The Hokage's eyes were filled with anger. Not the boiling anger that caused people to explode in fits of rage. It was a cold, deep resentment that was focused and refined.

"**The Shiki Fujin always needs a prisoner." **The Kyuubi tried to speak between the crushing forces against his windpipe. **"He's warming the bench while I'm here talking to you."**

"Then let him out."

"**No can do. If he comes out, then I go back in."**

"I have nothing to say to you."

"**Don't you want to know the circumstances surrounding our deal? If you do, then get off."** Hiruzen stopped pressing on the boy's neck and let him stand on his own. **"You're fucking lucky I'm in this weak vessel. Don't think this means you can push me around."**

"Noted." Hiruzen went back to his chair before motioning for the fox to sit in the one right across from him. "So tell me about this deal of yours…"

(One long explanation later.)

"Hehe. Sorry ojii-san. I didn't think he'd be _that_ rude towards you." Naruto's bright blue eye had returned as he fiddled around with the bandage until it sat snugly above his right eye.

"That's quite all right. I actually expected worse, but he seems civilized enough. As long as he's not going to endanger the village, you can keep him." Naruto's right hand shot up and grabbed the bandage before ripping it off.

"**Scum of the earth! What do you take me for, a pet? Let me kill him!" **He shot forward to attack the Hokage before Naruto's left arm grabbed his right and held it back.

"No, you can't attack Sarutobi-jiji! He's a really nice guy!" Naruto threw himself onto the ground and wrestled with his right half.

"**Nice my ass! I'll show him just how **_**civilized**_** I can be!"**

The Hokage laughed at the boy's antics before sitting back down, positive that Naruto could handle the Kyuubi's sudden possession of his body.

"Now get out of here. I've got paperwork to do." Shooing the boy and the fox away, Sarutobi snapped his fingers and Tenzo/Yamato appeared in the room, donned in the standard ANBU gear.

"Hokage-sama. Your orders?"

"You heard that conversation, correct?" Tenzo nodded his head. "Good, then I want you to keep an eye out on the Kyuubi. Just because he's not going to attack Konoha doesn't mean he's not going to be dangerous. He's is, and I want to make sure Konoha is safe. Until I figure out what to do, he'll be on your watch. Go."

"At once."

XXXXX

"Aw yeah, it feels good to be back home." Jiraiya stretched his arms as he waltzed through the entrance gates of Konoha. "Maybe I'll even get some new research in. It's been a few years, right? There's definitely going to be some new faces. Hehe."

"Our apologies, but Hokage-sama requests your audience immediately." A team of ANBU appeared in front of Jiraiya and bowed. "Please, come with us."

'_Shit, there goes my research down the drain. Oh well, I'll get some later.'_ Jiraiya nodded and allowed the ninja to take him to his old sensei. "Lead the way."

XXXXX

(Hokage's Office)

"You're the sannin Jiraiya?! Awesome! Ojii-san told me lots about you!" Jiraiya grinned as he sat down in the chair in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Yes, Jiraiya. We're glad you're here. I apologize for such short notice." The Hokage smoked on his usual pipe.

"Not a problem. When it's something like this, I'm always prepared. Shall we get started then?" The Hokage pointed at Naruto who lifted his shirt to expose the seal. "Looks perfectly normal from here, although I feel some of the Kyuubi's chakra leaking. Strange."

"Well yeah that's because –" Naruto tried to explain but was quickly interrupted by Jiraiya.

"Gogyo Fuin! (Five Elements Seal!)" Jiraiya's fingers glowed a deep purple before he tried to apply the seal onto Naruto. As his hand was reaching for the boy's stomach, his hand was knocked to the side.

"**Try that again and I'll kill you."** Jiraiya looked up in confusion and saw that Naruto's right eye was now visible, and glowing red with the Kyuubi's chakra.

'_What the hell? Wasn't his left eye the one that was working?'_

"Stop it. Both of you." Naruto seemed to snarl in frustration before grabbing the bandage and returning to its original position: over his right eye. Upon covering it up, Naruto blinked a few times before giving Jiraiya an awkward smile.

"Sorry 'bout that, he doesn't like being locked up."

"What the hell was that? Sarutobi, you want to tell me what's going on?" Jiraiya turned to the Hokage with a questioning look on his face.

"It seems like we'll have to start from the beginning… Naruto, would you do the honors?"

"Oh, all right. He might still be a little mad though…" Naruto switched the side the bandage was on and felt himself being tugged into the seal, his vision slowing shrinking as if he was getting further and further away before turning into black.

XXXXX

"Okay, I think I've got this down. You made a deal with the Kyuubi that's not against the rules of the Shiki Fuin. Whichever eye is open is the one that's out. While he's out, you're trapped in the seal, and he only comes out when he needs to _protect_ you? Did I get that right?" Jiraiya pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine slowly appear as he sorted out the influx of information.

"Sounds about right. The seal is fine, and I don't think making any edits to it would sit well with the fox." The Hokage looked at Naruto as the boy nodded, indicating it was a bad idea to try and change the circumstances surrounding the seal. "So now that this entire situation has been covered, we need to figure out what we're going to do next. The public wants to put him on trial."

"And they'll just lock him in prison or even sentence him to death. That's no good." Jiraiya shook his head. "Unacceptable."

"The other option right now is Danzo." Upon hearing the leader of Root's name, Jiraiya stood up and looked at the Hokage.

"You wouldn't dare." Jiraiya gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted for the boy was to be given to Danzo for training.

"Calm down. I'm not going to do that, although if I don't figure out another choice I'm afraid I'll have to." The Hokage motioned for Jiraiya to sit down which the latter finally did after taking a deep breath to calm himself. Jiraiya pondered for a brief moment before asking,

"Let me take him." Hiruzen looked at his former student in surprise.

"You? Aren't you too busy with your spy network to take care of a 7 year old boy?"

"Maybe, or maybe not. I can take him with me."

"It's dangerous." Jiraiya looked at the Hokage eye to eye.

"So is he. The Kyuubi's job is to protect him, and I'll be there too."

"The civilians aren't going to let you just walk out with him."Jiraiya grinned and his eyes lit up. He had a plan.

"Then here's what we're going to do. Naruto, listen up."

XXXXX

A blonde boy walked down the streets of Konoha, getting evil glares of hate and resentment from each passerby. He smiled to himself, remembering what the Hokage and Jiraiya had told him to do.

"**This is going to be fun."** He laughed as he started leaking incredible amounts of chakra, red tendrils swirling around him and enveloped his body in a dim red glow. The crowd screamed as they scrambled away from the boy. Whereas he once felt a lonely sorrowful pain, he now felt nothing but satisfaction as the people fled in terror.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side and he flew across the street, landing on the ground with his shoulder grazing the pavement. A wooden post had erupted from the ground and jabbed him in the side. Tenzo stood across from the blonde, ready to restrict the Kyuubi at moment's notice.

"**You're going to fucking die for that."** The boy growled as he stood up before increasing the amount of chakra he as outputting.

'_What the hell? The fox is blasting off huge amounts of chakra, but it's not focused or refined. It's going everywhere. It's like a thin layer being placed over the village."_ Tenzo shook his head, confused by the boy's actions. Not one to ask questions, he leapt forward and brought a fist to the boy's stomach.

While not strong enough to block it completely, the boy caught Tenzo's fist and rolled with the punch, letting it push him back a few feet. Tenzo continued the assault by leading with a hook to the boy's apparent blind spot: his left eye, but was rather surprised when the boy leaned back to dodge the attack.

With Tenzo still following through with the hook, the blonde rushed forward and delivered a punch right at Tenzo's shoulder joint. With the improper positioning of his hook coupled with the boy's punch, Tenzo heard a sickening 'pop' as his shoulder popped out of its socket.

Grunting in pain, Tenzo backed off and popped his shoulder back before moving it around to make sure it was fully functional and he didn't suffer any muscle damage. _'Damn, I'm underestimating him. He might be a kid, but the fox is still strong.'_

"**I told you. You're going to die."**The boy rushed forward with a sinister smirk plastered on his face before he turned to the side and backed off. It was none too soon as a large fireball passed between the two combatants, obstructing their view.

"Tenzo, we will subdue the fox while you lock him down." Tenzo turned around to see a squad of ANBU appear from the rooftops. They too, had felt the Kyuubi's overwhelming chakra envelop the village and came to stop it. Tenzo nodded before preparing his Mokuton jutsus. The rest of the ANBU disappeared and reappeared next to Naruto proceeding to engage the boy in close quarters combat. Despite the fox's overwhelming stamina and chakra, the body was still that of a 7 year old boy, and it wasn't long before Tenzo was given the perfect opportunity.

"Mokuton: Shichuro! (Wood Release: Four Pillar Prison)" As the boy lay on the ground, pillars of wood sprawled from the ground and formed a giant cage around the boy. "He's done."

XXXXX

"Good morning, citizens of Konoha. This is a public announcement of the events that have transpired last night." The Hokage stood upon a large podium, erected in the village square. Almost every single villager had arrived to hear their leader's words. "7 years ago, our village was attacked by a force so powerful it cost us the lives of many great shinobi, including our own Yondaime Hokage. It is with great difficulty, that I say that the Kyuubi no Kitsune had broken free of parts of the seal, letting the fox take over Naruto Uzumaki's body."

Murmurs of 'what' and 'oh no' were shared through the crowd, yet the Hokage opted to continue.

"Rest assured, our ANBU and Sannin Jiraiya have taken care of the issue. The fox has been sealed to the best of our ability."

"Then let us give him a trial!" One of the villagers had yelled out, causing many others to shout in agreement.

"I apologize, but that request cannot be made at this moment." A series of 'aws' rang through the crowd. "He is much too dangerous for a public trial."

"Then where is he right now?" Another villager voiced his concerns.

"Naruto Uzumaki has been sentenced to jail in Konoha's maximum security prison. His time is undetermined, but his earliest probation will be 5 years. Until he is determined to be stable and the fox completely subdued, he will remain in his cell." At the sound of those words, the crowd began to cheer. Finally, in 7 years, they could sleep well at night, knowing that a powerful bijuu was no longer in their midst. The crowd dispersed, going home to prepare grandeur meals and feasts for the celebration.

XXXXX

Jiraiya turned around one last time and looked at the unmanned gates of Konoha. The guards had gone to listen to the speech, if not only for a few minutes. When he heard the distant roar of the crowd's cheer, his heart wrenched in disgust. _'Minato, this is the village you've left for your son. This is the village you died to save. I pray that you will forgive them.'_ He turned his back towards the gates, and walked away.

"Hey, gaki! Are you going to keep standing there, or are you going to get your ass over here?" Naruto Uzumaki turned his back towards the village and gave the white-haired sannin a grin.

"Sorry, Jiraiya-jiji! I'm going to miss this place." Jiraiya smacked the boy in the back of the head.

"It's Jiraiya-_sensei_ to you now! Come on, kid. We don't have all day. We've got a lot of land to cross." The pair walked away, and disappeared under the cover of Konoha's forests, the cheering from the village faded into the distance.

* * *

This chapter turned out okay. It's neither the most entertaining thing I've written nor most deep and emotional, but it's one of those inbetween chapters that you need to get to where you want to go. Regardless of what I think, let me know what _you_ think. Please leave a review and let me know what you how you liked or disliked the chapter. Thanks for reading!

-Sakrosankt


	3. Chapter 3: Kizukuri Kidnappings Part I

How's it going ? Sorry I've been late with this update. I've been busy with life things, so I didn't have any real opportunities to sit down and write.

Anyways, this chapter and the next few will probably be on the beginning of their adventure, and then I'll have a time skip sometime afterwards. Nothing is certain yet, but that's the plan.

Enjoy Chapter 3 of In Utter Darkness!

"Speaking."

_'Thinking.'_

**"Bijuu speaking."**

**_'Bijuu thinking.'_**

* * *

Chapter 3: Kizukuri Kidnappings: Part I

"Jiraiya-sensei, can you teach me how to be a ninja?" Naruto looked up with curiosity towards the white-haired man sitting across from him. The light from the fireplace between them casted a dim red glow onto the man's face, making him seem old and mysterious. This was their first night under the cover of Konoha's forests.

"A ninja? Why do you want to learn?" Jiraiya took a bite out of some cooked fish that were being seared by the flames.

"Being a ninja is so cool! I could be strong like Hokage-jiji. Also, Kyuubi says I need to use chakra to use my bad eye to see, so I thought if I was going to need to learn to use chakra, I might as well learn to be a ninja." Naruto grinned at Jiraiya, hoping the man would teach him. Jiraiya sat silently for a few moments before speaking.

"You can't be the Hokage."

"Why not?"

"Criminals can't be candidates." Naruto's eyes widened in shock. He never expected leaving the village in that fashion would also be giving up his dream. A tear threatened to fall from his face. "Don't get misty-eyed now. It's better than actually being in jail."

"Fine…I don't need it. I don't need to be the Hokage." Naruto held back his tears as he took a few deep breaths. "I can still be a ninja right?"

"Why would you want to be a ninja, if you can't be the Hokage?" Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as he glared at the boy. In the light of the fire, his glare seemed ominous and dangerous. Naruto felt something crawl down his spine.

"I want to be able to protect those close to me." Naruto stared at the white-haired sannin. The man scoffed and burst out laughing.

"Old man Sarutobi is the _last_ person you'll ever need to protect." Through his laughter, Jiraiya took another few bites out of his fish. "Not going to help."

"I meant my friends." Naruto's eyebrows furled in anger. This man dared to laugh at his dreams.

"You have no friends."

The words that came out of his mouth broke the dam that held back Naruto's waterfall of tears. Without restraint, he burrowed his face in his hands and wept. It was true, he had no friends. He had nobody, but he had always dreamed of finding some. He and his friends would play together, laugh together, sing together, and dance together. They would become inseparable, becoming brothers and sisters in all but name. That was what he dreamed of, but that was all it was: a dream. The truth hurts.

"I know! I don't need to hear it from you! I know I don't have any friends! Everybody hates me, and everyone thinks I'm a monster, but I know I'm not!" In a fit of rage, Naruto had thrown the half-eaten fish in his hands at Jiraiya, where it landed on his clothes, smearing grease and fish bits everywhere. "I know I'm going to find friends: people who know me as Uzumaki Naruto, the person! I wanted to be a ninja so I'll never have to lose them, but you know what? I don't want you to teach me anymore!"

The boy ran off into the forest, leaving a stunned Jiraiya by the campfire. He picked up the piece of fish that landed in his lap.

"Well said, Naruto. Well said."

XXXXX

"Hey, come back to the camp. You're going to catch a cold sitting out here." Jiraiya walked up to Naruto, who was sitting by himself, perched on top of a rock. His eye was red and his face was wet from the tears, but he had stopped crying. Instead, the boy merely stared at the ground, silent to Jiraiya's approach.

The man walked up and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, only for the blonde to shrug it off. Evidently, he was still mad.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't mean anything." The boy turned around and gave Jiraiya a strange look of disbelief. "I'm serious."

"Then why'd you do it." The boy's voice was still a little shaky.

"I needed to know if you were serious. You wouldn't believe how many people have asked me to teach them, only for me to reject them because they weren't serious enough."

"You thought I was lying when I said those things?!"

"I don't know. The easiest way to get someone to spill the truth is to make them emotional."

"So you said those things to see what I really thought."

"Yeah. Nothing I said was true. Well, except for the criminals can't be the Hokage part. That's an actual policy, but everything else was a lie. You might not think you have friends now, but there's a lot of people who truly care about you."

The distress seemed to ease out of the boy's face as he heard Jiraiya's apology.

"Now what?" His voice no longer shook as he spoke. He looked up at Jiraiya before giving the man a slight grin. At that moment, his stomach chose to grumble and protest in hunger, drawing a warm hearty laugh from Jiraiya. Reaching into his back pocket, Jiraiya pulled out the piece of fish that had landed on his clothes.

"Eat. You have training tomorrow morning." Naruto beamed as he took ate the fish with gusto, excited for the training to come. Only one person furrowed his eyebrows in distaste at the events.

"**Hm…"**

XXXXX

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Jiraiya held up 4 fingers to Naruto's right.

"Four." Naruto said, without turning his head.

"Now how in the world are you able to see?" Jiraiya looked at the 4 outstretched fingers. He tried again, holding up two fingers instead. Naruto was quick to respond.

"Two. I'm telling you, Jiraiya-sensei! I can see with the other eye now. It's a little weird, but I can see! It hurts my eyes if I keep it on for too long, so I can't really see forever, but this is awesome!" Naruto laughed as he grabbed a rock on the ground and threw it at the fire. The rock landed perfectly around the fire pit, lodging itself in between a few other rocks. "See, I'm a ninja now!"

Jiraiya grinned before putting out the fire to their encampment.

"Exceptional. Really. It hasn't even been two days and you're able to pump chakra into your eyes. Tell me, what does it look like?" Jiraiya pointed to Naruto's bandaged eye.

"Huh?" Naruto turned curiously. "What does what look like?"

"Your vision. What does it look like? You said it was weird?"

"Yeah, it's really strange. I can see outlines of everything. Everything is black and orange. I can see your face, and it looks like a bunch of orange lines tangled together. This is _so_ cool! But the best part is when I look straight at you, and half your face is normal, but the other half is orange, and it blends and mixes right in the middle. Ha!" Naruto looked around, moving his hands around and grasping objects like he truly had depth perception. Perhaps he did have it.

Jiraiya performed one last test before concluding the boy's vision was completely normal. Taking a small rock from the ground, he chucked it at the boy's blind side. It wasn't fast or overly large, so it wouldn't cause any harm if it hit him. The small pebble flew across the air, aiming directly for Naruto's face. The boy cried in alarm and leaned back, dodging the pebble as it whizzed past his nose but ultimately stumbling and falling due to a lack of balance.

"What was that for you stupid old man!" The blonde sat up and dusted himself off. "That could've hurt!"

"No it couldn't have. It was a tiny little pebble. If you were hurt because of that, then I don't think you'd be proper ninja material." Jiraiya smirked as Naruto stopped talking and grumbled in annoyance. It was so easy to pull the ninja card on Naruto. "Let's go. We're almost there. We'll reach the city by sundown. There, I can teach some _real_ things."

XXXXX

"Welcome to Kizukuri. Please, enjoy your stay."

"Whoa, Jiraiya-sensei. This place is huge!" Naruto stared at the towering buildings as the pair walked through the city's entrance.

"Obviously. Kizukuri is a major trading nexus. People from all over come to this city when they're traveling from one country to another. It connects to everywhere. This also means, that you'll need to lay low. Don't make too much of a ruckus. Kizukuri has no ninja, but it's a joint protectorate. Every single one of the hidden villages has an embassy here, so we don't want to create any trouble. Understood?"

Naruto nodded. There were still Konoha ninja stationed in the city who could recognize Naruto. If that were to happen, his cover and excuse would be blown. The Hokage would be in trouble, he would be in trouble, and the villagers might riot and protest. With an incredibly low chances any ninja would find them in the crowd of thousands of people much less a ninja from Konoha, Naruto and Jiraiya were relatively anonymous.

"Good, then let's go. The sun is about to set and I'm starving. Let's check into the hotel and I'll show you a thing or two. Sound good?"

XXXXX

"How is this showing me a thing or two…" Naruto slapped his palm to his face as he sat neck deep in the hot spring.

"Shh! Silence! I'm doing some incredible research right now…" Jiraiya scribbled something in his notebook before looking up again and looking through the small hole in the fence.

"What are you even looking at?" Naruto got out of the water and walked over to Jiraiya, who only stepped aside and pointed to the hole.

"What the h**oly shit this is awesome." **The Kyuubi grinned as he poked his right eye into the little hole.

"Huh? Kyuubi? What the hell? I didn't even see you change your bandage." Jiraiya pointed to the bandage that was now resting on the boy's left eye, letting his right eye soak in the wonders of whatever was on the other side of the fence.

"**Hey, don't sweat it old man. I'd miss it too if I was looking at this sweet, sweet sight before me."** Jiraiya was openly stunned at the fox's perverseness. **"Why are you staring at me you gay fuck? Can't you see I'm busy here?"**

"Whoa, slow down there. Move over. I need to do my research." Jiraiya shoved the blonde aside and peered into the hole before giggling. "Augh, what the hell?"

The Kyuubi had retaliated by grabbing the man's notebook and throwing it at the water. The old man yelped before diving in to save his precious stories. He managed to grab the book as it was falling and keep it above the water as the rest of his body sank to the bottom. He got out of the spring, sputtering. The fox had taken his place once more and was giggling with his tongue sticking out.

'_What an animal, indeed.'_ Jiraiya shook his head before grabbing the boy and lifting him up by his sides. It may have been the fox inside the boy's body, but he was just as light and weak as a 7 year old child. The fox tried to kick at Jiraiya but at arm's length away, the boy's legs were not nearly long enough to reach Jiraiya. The old man chuckled before stopping as he saw the blonde flash him a toothy smile. It was so toothy, that he could notice the ends of the boy's teeth were sharp and pointed, as if they were fangs.

"OW!" Jiraiya clutched his arm as he stumbled backwards and fell into the fence, breaking the wood and knocking a few posts over. "What the fuck, you stupid fox! You bit me!"

Jiraiya looked at the boy, only to see that the Kyuubi had switched back and the bandage was now over his right eye. Naruto blushed a heavy red before looking down. He pointed at Jiraiya and the broken fence behind him. Two words.

"Oh shit."

Screams and crashes rang through the night air, not uncommon in the lively city that never sleeps.

XXXXX

"Hey, what's the news around here?" Jiraiya asked the bartender who was pouring him a glass of sake. Naruto had already gone back to the hotel to sleep after another grueling day of training, giving Jiraiya the perfect opportunity to go scouting.

"Here in Kizukuri?" The man finished pouring the sake. Jiraiya took a quick shot and drank the cup in a single gulp. He slid the glass back to the bartender and motioned for him to continue. "There's been a few mishaps here and there. It's a big city so there's always something going on."

Jiraiya nodded before pulling out a notebook – a different one. The bartender continued.

"There's been a few murders lately. Nothing too big, just a couple of hookers out past midnight. We're in the nice part of Kizukuri, so we're safe at any time of the day. But go into the ghettos? You'd better hope you've got a roof over your head past midnight. That's when the thugs come out to play."

"Thugs?"

"Yeah, man. Thugs. They're in these little gangs and they have all of these turf wars in the ghettos. We don't have any real security down here, but the ninja from the villages are more than enough to cover for it. That's why this here city is one of the safest places you can be."

"If it's so safe, then why're there murderers and gangs out in the streets?"

"The commissioner has all of the ninjas protecting the ground we're standing on. Day or night, this place is safe. Can't be said for the ghettos though. It's become so dangerous that it would cost a fortune to revamp the place, so the city decides to leave it be. Better keep them here and keep the city's investments as safe as possible, rather than go out on a limb and try help the lesser region. That's just a risk on what we've got going on right now."

Jiraiya nodded in understanding. The run down areas of the city are of no use to the city's monetary output. Low cost housing and maintenance allowed for many people to live and work in the city. The only downside was the lack of security. The ghettos weren't necessarily poor. With the lack of security and government intervention, taxes were incredibly low. Low taxes, coupled with Kizukuri's booming economy allowed for substantial monetary gains. However, living in these areas posed risks. Gangs and mafias formed to keep some semblance of order.

"Anything else? I'd think this city's a lot more interesting than just a few murders in the ghettos. I could find that anywhere." Jiraiya took another gulp of drink. The alcohol helped him relax and think.

"Hey, if you're looking for information, you're looking at the wrong guy. The only things that I hear of are the murders and a few kidnapped little kids." That immediately piqued Jiraiya's interest.

"Kidnapped kids?"

"Yeah. It's been going on for a while now. About a month or so, some kids disappeared. Poof! Vanished out of thin air. Nobody knew where they went. Nobody's heard from them since. A week later, a few more kids go. Then the next week, and the next. It's becoming a regular occurrence."

"How old are these kids? Ten? Eleven?"

"Most of them are, yeah. Some of them go as old as thirteen or fourteen. Some of them go as young as five or six. Age isn't really a big factor. If you're a kid, then you're in danger."

"Do you have any details? Person? Organization? Anything specific?"

"Nope. Sorry. Like I said, I'm not the guy for this kind of deal. Us bartenders might be the ears of the city, but even we don't know exactly what goes on down in the dumps. If you really want to know, head over to the northern side of the city, and find Daisuke's Dango shop. Go in and buy a dango on a stick. 3 colors: green, white, red. In that order. Then buy a cup of milk tea, and ask for the check. Don't touch any of the food. When they ask you why you're not eating, tell them you're not going to eat the boss's food. It might sound strange, but trust me. It'll get you what you want. Sign my name on the check."

"And why would you be so important?" Jiraiya quickly memorized the steps.

"They owe me a thing or two."

"You'd waste a favor for me? A person you hardly know?"

"Ha. Trust me, I know you quite well." The bartender smirked before cleaning out Jiraiya's empty glass.

"Explain." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, carefully focusing at the bartender. Whoever this man was, he could be dangerous, especially if he knew who Jiraiya was. Common people tended to ignore the fame of ninjas.

"Please. If you want to stay anonymous, don't look exactly like the picture in the back of your book when you're walking around town." Jiraiya laughed, causing many of the other patrons to stare at him strangely. "A sannin is more than enough to handle a few thugs."

XXXXX

"Is there a problem with the food, sir?" One of the waitresses at Daisuke's Dango shop approached Jiraiya's table. He had the milk tea and the green-white-red dango on a stick sitting on his plate, completely untouched. He held the check in his hand and mentally slapped himself for not asking for the bartender's name, so he opted to write 'The bartender' and hoped whoever read the check would understand.

"No. If the crowd is any indication, I'm sure your food here excellent, but it's not my place to touch the boss's food." The waitress stared at him for a brief moment before smiling and holding out her hand. Jiraiya gave her the check and watched as she walked to the back of the shop. He sat and waited.

It wasn't even five minutes before the same waitress came back, and motioned him to come before taking the dango and tea. He sat up and walked along the aisles where many other patrons were chewing on dangos of different colors. Behind the dining area was the kitchen. Steam immediately clouded his vision as he stepped into the room. Chefs were running back and forth, carrying pots and pans. Some were cooking appetizers and entrees while others were creating dangos.

"I thought this was just a dango shop…" Jiraiya peered over the shoulder of one of the chefs and looked at the food. "Noodles? Ramen? Rice? Beef? What kind of dango shop is this?"

"Actually, Daisuke's shop sells strictly dangos. On the other hand, the two restaurants beside us deliver high quality meals to their patrons. This kitchen is connected to all three establishments." The waitress walked to the back of the kitchen and stopped in front of a large set of double doors. "Daisuke-sama will see you now."

She handed him the dango and tea before opening the door for him. Through the double doors was a long hallway with paintings and candles mounted on either side of the hall. A red wool carpet stretched across the entire length of the hallway. He began walking.

At the end of it was a single wooden door. Before he entered, Jiraiya took a deep breath and channeled his chakra. _'Henge.'_ Taking the bartender's words into consideration, he changed his appearance into that of a standard business man. His long white haired turned short and black. The custom plate on his head that indicated his allegiance with Mount Myokobu disappeared and pale skin could be seen underneath. The red sage coat and robes turned into a navy blue suit and tie. _'Let's do this.'_

He knocked on the door.

"Come in." He opened the door and entered what seemed to be an office. It was large with stacks of paper in large columns on the floor. Behind a cluttered wooden desk sat a middle-aged man in a similar suit. In his hand was Jiraiya's check. "'Bartender,' eh? You're lucky I only owe one of them."

"I never got his name, so it was the only thing I could put." The man motioned him to sit down to which Jiraiya complied. He held out his hand. "Jiraiya."

"Daisuke." Daisuke shook it and placed the check down. "Now tell me, what do you need?"

"I need information."

"Then you've come to the right place. I'm an information broker. I've got eyes and ears all over the city. If something goes down in Kizukuri, I'm the first to know about it."

"Tell me about the kidnappings."

"Those? They've become pretty common lately. Every week or so a few kids go missing." Daisuke opened a drawer in his desk and flipped through folders and files. "Let's see… Aha."

He pulled out a big folder. It was stretched to the point of breaking with the number of papers that were stuffed inside. He opened it and handed Jiraiya the first piece of paper. It was a map of Kizukuri with various X marks cluttered in the south western tip of the city.

"Is this where all of the kidnappings occurred?" Jiraiya fingered over the marks, tracing them.

"Yeah. We're looking at thirty two and counting."

"Who's doing it?"

"We don't know. Nobody has seen any of these kidnappings happen. One minute they're there. The other, they're gone. There's really no active gangs on that side, so it's probably just a single person, or a very small group. They hide well."

"Are there any preferences?" Daisuke reached into the folder and pulled out a stack of paper, all clipped together. "What's this?"

"Profiles of the children. Most of them, at least." Jiraiya flipped through the stack, skimming through the general appearance and personality of each of the victims. As he got through them, he could see no pattern. They were of different ages, were different genders, had different physical features, liked different things, hated different things, and came from different backgrounds. There was no common link between them. "No preference, huh?"

"No preference." Daisuke confirmed. "Honestly, it seems like their target is any kid out at night."

"How late?"

"Way past sunset. A little past midnight, let's say one or two in the morning?"

"When was the last time this happened?"

"Five days ago. Why, are you planning on doing something?"

"Something like that…"

"You'd better be careful. There were a few people who volunteered to help, but none of them came back alive. These guys aren't just your common thug or two. Whoever this is, he's dangerous."

'_Orochimaru…is this your doing?'_ Jiraiya stared at the map, thinking to himself. _'Oh Naruto, you are in for a treat…'_

XXXXX

'_Augh! Why does he have to use me as bait?' _Naruto walked on the cracked sidewalks, his footsteps making as much noise as possible. The ghettos of Kizukuri were as he expected: run down houses with broken windows and doors hanging on hinges. The grass was untrimmed and had grown to almost knee length. The roads were pitch black with broken street lanterns lying on the ground. Heading the various warnings, it was one in the morning and not a single other soul was out.

'_**Be happy he even asked.'**_

'_He didn't even ask me! He just said 'Hey gaki, we're taking a field trip to the ghettos and you're going to get kidnapped for me, okay?' I'm going to get KIDNAPPED? He's not even here to help!'_

'_**I'm surprised he trusts me enough to save your ass when we get captured. Which should happen right…about… now.'**_

As if on cue, a hand grabbed Naruto from behind and forcefully dragged him back as his attacker placed a piece of cloth over his nose and mouth. The pungent odor from the cloth stung his eyes and burned the insides of his nose. His vision blurred and spun as he fell unconscious.

Jiraiya's head snapped up at the sound of Naruto's cry. His pen stopped short of writing in the moonlight as he watched the scuffle in the street. The attacker picked up the now unconscious boy and slung him over his shoulder before walking away. Jiraiya smiled and closed his notebook.

"And so it begins… I'm coming for you Orochimaru…" He leapt out the open window and disappeared under Kizukuri's night sky.

* * *

And there you go. Naruto's just been kidnapped and Jiraiya's in hot pursuit. It's the beginning of an adventure. I didn't feel like just skipping a _huge_ chunk of time (5 years) because the personality and skills that Naruto develops won't be exactly the same as the canon. It didn't feel right to just you guys take it as it is, so I'm going to briefly go through these 5 years and explore. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. If you guys don't want to see their adventures, say so in your review and I'll see what the majority says. Regardless, I'll finish the Kizukuri Kidnappings and we'll go from there. Thanks for reading!

-Sakrosankt


	4. Chapter 4: Kizukuri Kidnappings Part II

Hey everybody. Sorry for the long wait. I'm terrible at keeping these promises... -_-.

Hopefully I'll be able to churn out some more. Enjoy!

"Speaking."

_'Thinking.'_

**"Bijuu speaking."**

**_'Bijuu thinking.'_**

* * *

Chapter 4: Kizukuri Kidnappings: Part II

Turn right. Turn left. Turn right. Sharp left. Another left. Jiraiya kept his eyes on the man with the blonde slung over his shoulder. They weaved in and out of Kizukuri's alleys, making their way to the very edges of the city. Despite the fact that Jiraiya was over 20 meters away, he was still able to keep track of the man under the cover of the night.

'_How eerie. There's barely even a sound anywhere.'_ The man's footsteps were quiet, although not entirely silent. He was skilled, but not as skilled as Jiraiya, who hid himself under a genjutsu and walked so quietly it was as if he was gliding on top of the ground. A turn right. _'This is too easy.'_

Jiraiya smiled at himself smugly as he continued to trail behind the kidnapper. The towering apartments and rundown buildings made a network of narrow winding alleys. It was a labyrinth. It would have been easier to get a bird's eye view and trail the man from the tops of the buildings, but Jiraiya didn't trust the stability of the roofs. When he had first tried to jump onto the roofs of one of the buildings, the ceiling caved in and collapsed under his weight, causing him to fall onto the second floor. The kidnapper turned at the sound of tumbling rubble and stared at the old building as dust and debris flew into the air. Luckily, the kidnapper seemed to think nothing of it and continued walking as if it was a regular occurrence – it probably was.

The man made another sharp turn to the left, and Jiraiya followed suit. Upon clearing the corner, the sannin came face to face with a brick wall: a dead end.

"What the hell?" Jiraiya looked around, but there were no trap doors or hidden entrances. There were only towering bricks stacked together and held with mortar to form a solid wall. There was no illusion here. There wasn't anywhere the kidnapper could have possibly gone, so where did he go? "Shit…"

XXXXX

The first thing Naruto heard was screaming. The blonde grimaced as his senses slowly returned to him, starting with his hearing. It started off as a muffled cry, but slowly became clearer and clearer until he realized exactly how high pitched and sharp the screams were. His heartbeat quickened as his mind processed the screaming. _'What could be making her scream like that…'_ He assumed it was a girl – no man could scream like that.

Then his taste came back. The cloth with the drug left a bitter taste in his mouth, causing him to retch in disgust. He coughed a few times before taking in a deep breath, smelling nothing but cold dusty air. He realized he was lying on a cold surface.

"Hey, you feelin' okay?"

Naruto sat up and looked around, only to be greeted by continual darkness. He stopped and blinked his eye a few times. It only took a moment for him to register the fact that he was in complete darkness. There was no source of light anywhere. So he did the next best thing, he pumped chakra into his eyes. While the left half of his vision remained the same – completely dark – the right side lit up as orange tendrils swirled together to form shapes. He recognized the many vertical bars parallel to the ground: prison bars.

"Hey, can you hear me?"

The blonde's head snapped in the direction of the sound. The screams had died in the background, leaving nothing but silence. He saw an outline of a boy, leaning against the corner with his arms huddled around his legs.

"Yeah, I can hear you." Naruto replied quietly. With their close proximity, there was no need for any yelling. Even whispers would have been more than enough.

"Ha. At least I've got some company before I go."

"Go where?" Naruto's question was met by silence. The boy had stopped talking.

"So, my name's Jin. You?" Jin ignored the question.

"Naruto."

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too." The two sat in silence for a brief moment. "So where are we?"

"No clue. I woke up the same way you did. Only I had this girl with me. Her name was Miki. She woke up with somebody named Kenta. The line continues…"

"Where is she now?" Once again, Jin was silent. At least he was until another screamed echoed in the walls.

"T-there… there she is…" Jin's voice trembled as he began to cry. He wept quietly in his arms, huddled in a dark little corner. Naruto's eyes widened in sheer terror and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. Whatever happened to Miki was bound to happen to Jin as well. It was only a matter of time. "I-I…I'm s-scared…"

Naruto could see Jin's body twitch as Miki's bloodcurdling screams continued to reverberate in the cell. Naruto could hear Jin whispering to himself.

"I'm just dreaming. I'm just dreaming. This is just a dream. I'm at home on my bed. Just a dream. Mom will wake me up. Mom's coming. Don't worry." Another scream pierced the room as Jin began breaking down and crying hysterically. "I just want to go home! I just want my mom!"

Naruto could only grimace and feel the terror the other boy was feeling. Where was Jiraiya? He was supposed to bust the boy out.

"Hey, get a hold of yourself." Naruto walked up to Jin and shook his shoulders. The other boy continued to cry. Naruto slapped his hand across the boy's face. "Hey! Listen!"

The other boy fell over, stunned.

"What?"

"Look, I'm going to get us out of here, okay? Just stop crying."

"How? They've got us locked in here."

"No, look. I've got keys." He rattled the pair of keys in his hands. Jin heard the ringing metal and he took a deep breath.

"Where'd you get those?" Jin walked over to the sound of rattling metal and lo and behold, his fingers found themselves on a set of keys.

"They were hanging on the wall on the side. If you reach up and jump, your hand can reach the hook." Naruto grabbed Jin's hand and brought it up to the wall. Stretching, they managed to graze their fingers over a piece of metal jutting out of the wall: the hook. "See?"

"No, it's too dark to see. How did you know they were there?" Without any sort of vision, the keys would be nigh impossible to find. It was a good place to put the keys, as long as the room was pitch black – it usually was. Luckily for Naruto, Kurama's eye worked perfectly in the dark.

"Let's say I've got a few skills to help me see in the dark…" Naruto walked across the prison bars before his eyes were level to an orange square. _'The lock.'_ Reaching around the bars, he fit one of the keys into the lock. All it made was a little _'click'_ and the door swung open, the rusty metal hinges grinding on itself, causing a horrible screeching noise. Luckily for the two boys, the sound was drowned out by the girl's screams.

Naruto ran up and turned a switch on the wall. A small buzz of electricity could be heard as a single hanging lamp sparked to life. Finally, they could see properly. Naruto turned to look at Jin. The boy had pitch black spiky hair, much like his own. His eyes were red from crying, but Naruto could see two onyx eyes stare back at him. Jin couldn't have been any older than Naruto was.

"Nice to finally see you for the first time."

"Likewise."

Naruto walked over to the only other door and grabbed the handle, preparing to open it. He was about to before Jin quickly grabbed his wrist.

"No!" Naruto turned to look at the boy. Jin only shook his head. "That's where they're coming from. That's _the room._"

Jin's emphasis on 'the room' made it quite clear it was a room they did not want to go through. Naruto could imagine the girl was on the other side.

"Then what?" Naruto let go of the handle, and Jin let go of his wrist before turning around and pointing to the ceiling. His finger was direct at the opening of an air vent covered by a metal plate with holes and four steel bolts. The room had to have some sort of ventilation or else the prisoners would die from suffocation. It was perfect method of escape.

"Lift me up?" Jin grabbed the keys as Naruto bent down and let Jin stand on his shoulders. The blonde strained to keep both Jin and himself up. "Just keep it like that a little longer…"

Jin's hands went straight to unscrewing the four bolts on the ceiling. The key made a good pseudo-screwdriver as one by one, the bolts came tumbling down. Upon unscrewing the last one, Jin grabbed the metal plate and handed it to Naruto who dropped it on the ground. Once again, the screams they heard from outside drowned out the ringing of the metal as it hit the cold concrete floor.

"Okay, we're good. Lift me up a little higher…" With a surge of strength, Naruto lifted Jin by the feet. "Got it. "

The ventilation shaft made a 90 degree turn from a vertical pipe to a horizontal pipe, allowing Jin to get a good grip on the edge. The boy hung there for a brief moment before lifting himself so that his arms were on top of the shaft's ledge. Making sure he was secured, het let himself hang off the edge.

"Naruto, grab onto my legs and climb up!" Jin's legs dangled down out of the mouth of the shaft, out of Naruto's reach.

"Jin, I'm going to have to jump. Are you going to hold up there?" The other boy gave an okay before taking a deep breath and preparing himself. "Here we go!"

Naruto bent down and jumped with all his might and latched onto Jin's ankles. Jin grunted as he tried to support both the weight of himself and Naruto with only his arms. It was proving difficult. Jin felt his muscles burn to keep the two off the ground. As the raven haired boy held his position, the blonde started climbing up the boy's body. From ankle to thigh to waist to shoulder, and finally, to the top. Naruto clambered past Jin and sat in the ventilation shaft, the tips of his spikey blonde hair grazing the top of the metal tubes. With some of Naruto's help, Jin too managed to get above the ledge and into the horizontal shafts. The two sat there, focusing only on recovering their energy. Sweat poured off their faces as they grinned to each other.

"Hah. We. We made it." The two chuckled between breaths. "Now let's keep going."

XXXXX

To say he wasn't mad was an understatement. He was downright pissed. Jiraiya cursed before kicking a garbage can, watching the metal dent under the force of his foot. The now crumbled piece of metal landed with a crash, spilling its contents all over the ground. _'Fuck. Wait what the…'_

Jiraiya peered closer at the place where the trash can used to stand, and brushed his fingers over the concrete. Under the cover of the night, the darkness made it difficult to see and perceive. The light from the moon barely reached the inner maze of buildings he was in. _'Light. I need light.'_

He reached into one of his various hidden pockets and procured a matchbox. Taking one of the sticks out, he swiftly grazed the wood against the rough surface of the box, letting the friction ignite the head of the match. There was a small burst of light before a steady fire emanated from the tip, casting a dim glow on the alley. Bringing the match closer, Jiraiya's lips curled into a smile as he brushed his fingers over the concrete once more, this time, tracing the various markings of ink on the ground. _'A seal?'_

Moving the black trash bags from the corner of the dead end, Jiraiya followed the intricate design from the trash can all the way along the brick wall. Had he not moved the items that were blocking his view, the seal would have remained hidden, even in the midday sunlight. It seemed like luck was on his side. Inspecting the seal, he deduced the seal must have been some method of transport, bringing the kidnapper and subsequently, Naruto, to wherever they were at the moment. Jiraiya placed his hand on the seal and channeled his chakra through, watching the design light up a very dim blue.

Sometimes, it paid off to be a seal master.

XXXXX

"Hey, do you know where we're going?" Jin scurried behind the blonde as they made their ways through the ventilation shafts. They had been crawling for a good amount of time, and the screaming had just about stopped, meaning Jin would be up at bat very soon.

"Uh, no. Not at all, but this seems promising." Naruto passed another ventilation opening, and peered through, seeing stacks of crates in a dimly lit room. It was completely silent, with a single guard standing underneath the shafts to keep watch. "Looks like there's only one guy, too. Want to go?"

Jin looked at the guard who was moving his head left to right. Funny thing is, he never looked up.

"Go."

The two boys kicked the metal plate, causing it to rip from its screws and plummet to the ground. The guard, hearing the crash, turned his head up, only to have his face meet with the swift metal plate. He was out cold before his body even reached the ground. Naruto clumsily fell on body of the guard, using him as a cushion while Jin managed to land on one of the crates. The boy leapt from one box to the other, landing gracefully.

"Pfft. Show off." Naruto grumbled as he picked himself off the guard. Luckily, the guard had provided enough cushion to soften Naruto's plunge and allow him to walk away with a few minor bruises. "What is this place?"

"Looks like a warehouse." The room was larger than the two had expected. Towers upon towers of crates could be seen in all directions, some of them almost reaching the top to graze the high ceilings. "Come on, let's get out of here."

It was at that moment, they heard an unknown voice pierce the silence.

"Hey! What was that noise?"

The two looked at each other before panicking. Neither of them expected other guards around. Luckily enough, there were multiple boxes to use as cover. And so, the pair climbed on top of the boxes as quickly and as silently as possible, hoping that they would be kept out of sight.

"What the hell happened here?" Two guards came around the corner of crates and saw the one guard lying on the floor with blood coming down his head. "Holy shit."

The guards ran up and inspected their fallen comrade, making sure he was all right and still alive before looking at the metal plate lay next to the fallen body. One of the guards picked it up and held it in his hands and held back a laugh.

"Hey, look at this. I think this is what took out our little friend." He lifted the plate up and showed the other guard, and they both shared a few laughs.

"Ha! All right, let's bring him to the docs. They'll patch him up easy." The two guards moved to either side of the unconscious man and slung the man's arms over their shoulders. They dragged him away, muttering something about how "the fuckin' sky's fallin'."

"Phew. That was close." Jin muttered before wiping the sweat that had formed on his brow.

"Yeah, now let's get out of here before the guards comes back."

The two boys moved through the massive storage room with relative ease. The only two other guards had left with their fallen comrade, leaving the storage room unattended – not that anything really needed attending in there. Upon reaching an exit corridor, Naruto took the first stride and started walking forward.

"Stop! Don't put your foot down!" He didn't expect the outburst, so it startled him as he let out a little yelp. Upon hearing those words, Naruto locked his muscles and froze on the spot, foot only inches away from the floor. He slowly turned his head towards Jin.

"What was that for?!" He hissed, putting a finger up to his lips, signaling Jin that the other boy's outburst was way too loud.

"Look." Jin pointed at something right underneath Naruto's feet. The blonde took the step back and bent down, staring at the small glint of light that he was about to step on. "Tripwire."

"Whoa. That was close." Naruto flicked the wire, watching it vibrate. Whatever trap the wire was primed to activate, Naruto didn't want to find out. It was at that moment that the blare of an alarm rang through the corridor and storage room.

"Naruto! What the hell?! I told you to not move!" Jin exasperated, slapping his palm against his face.

"What?! No! I didn't step on it. I swear! Look, it's still here!" Naruto hastily plucked the string again. Yet this time, he mentally cursed as he used too much force and the string snapped. _'Uh oh…'_

The bright white lights hanging above them dimmed and turned red as another siren rang out.

"Run!"

XXXXX

Jiraiya sprinted down the hallways, taking out the enemies one by one underneath the eerie red glow. He laughed at the entrance he made…

_Jiraiya felt the world swirl and disappear as he reappeared in a room, this time, with steel walls. There were many guards doing all sorts of activities: playing cards, drinking, laughing, talking, and sleeping, yet every single one of them had one thing in common: they were staring at him. Jiraiya felt the need to break the ice._

"_Would you like to hear about our lord and savior Jesus Chri-" He was cut off as one of the guards yelled._

"_Sound the alarm!" They all began getting up and into fighting stances, pulling out various weapons._

"_Well, I guess not." He shrugged as he leaped in and engaged the guards in battle, his hands a blur._

He had gone through the installation and taken down enemy after enemy before sealing any scrolls or valuables in a scroll in his pocket. He had found a group of scientists and doctors huddled around a person, or at least what used to be a person. From the lack of clothing, Jiraiya could tell it was female, but the entire body structure was wrong. There were joints in places he had never seen before; on places that shouldn't bend: the thigh, the forearm, the shin. Upon killing the scientists and doctors, he combed through their items, taking vials and documents and papers, before hearing a voice. It was barely audible. The voice was rough and coarse, most likely from screaming.

"Kill me." And he did.

Shaking his head to get rid of the memory, Jiraiya continued on his way. As he reached the end of a hall, he heard footsteps on the other side, coming closer and closer. Taking the element of surprise, he knelt behind the corner and concentrated.

XXXXX

Naruto and Jin hid behind a corner as they heard footsteps approaching. It seemed like they would have to actually engage a real fight. Naruto turned to Jin, whispering quietly so the approaching enemy couldn't hear.

"Jin. Listen, I want you to trust me on something. Whatever I do next, don't be scared. Okay?" Jin eyed him curiously before nodding. "Okay. Let's go Kurama."

Naruto shifted his bandage over and felt weak as the Kyuubi gained control of his body. His smiled a wide toothy grin, showing off a row of pearly white fangs. Red chakra warped around his hands, forming into sharp claws.

"**Stay back, kid."**

He rounded the corner.

XXXXX

As his target approached, Jiraiya morphed his chakra into his hand and spun it, leaving a small blue orb in his hand. As he heard his enemy round the corner, Jiraiya leaped out and plunged it into flesh, watching as the technique ripped skin and grinded flesh. He widened in surprise at the next person he saw.

"Naruto!"

XXXXX

Kurama knelt down and rounded the corner, driving his claw into his attacker and watched as his claws pierced straight through.

"**What the hell, old man?"**

He pushed the now dead body of the guard he had killed off of his claw, watching as the body slid off the blade of chakra. As his power subsided, Kurama let the swirling cloak of chakra dissipate.

"**You took your sweet time, huh?"**

Jiraiya realized the boy in front of him was actually the fox before slowing down his impending hug. Better play his cards carefully. He was happy to see the boy alive, and in good condition.

"Well, you know I had to go around clearing the entire installation." Jiraiya noticed another face cowering in the corner. They made eye contact before the other boy quickly dashed back and hid his face. "Who's your friend?"

"His name's Jin." Kurama reverted back to Naruto, once again switching the bandage on his face. "We didn't get to talk much, but he's okay. Jin, meet Jiraiya-sensei."

"H-hello." Jin came out of the corner and bowed to Jiraiya. The kid knew his manners. It wasn't everyday someone paid their respect towards their elders. The boy was shaken up and his eyes occasionally darted to Naruto. Was it fear?

"See, now why can't you be like him?" Naruto merely grumbled and rolled his eyes, muttering something about 'old geezers'.

"Now what?"

"Now we get out. I've got all of their documents sealed right here." Jiraiya tapped the bag that was slung over his shoulder.

"How? Where's the exit?"

"What do you mean 'where's the exit'?" Jiraiya scoffed at the question. "You tell me. Where do you think the exit is?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be asking!"

"Well neither do I, so I'm going to ask you one more time. We're underground, so where do you think the exit is?" Jiraiya was amused. He looked at Naruto's confused face and waited until the boy understood his implications. As Naruto's gears whirled and understood what Jiraiya was saying, the confused look disappeared as his lips curled into a grin.

"Well now that you mention it, I think the exit is right up **here."** A black ball of energy appeared in the boy's palm, much like the rasengan. The only major difference was that Kurama's technique didn't spin the chakra left, right, up and down. Instead, it was simply an incredible amount of chakra densely compacted into a tight ball. The ground beneath the boy cracked under the weight of the technique as Kurama used all of the boy's strength to hold it up. Bringing it up to his mouth, he engulfed the orb. Jiraiya watched as the pitch black ball disappeared down the blonde's throat before the boy's body suddenly expanded beyond human capability.

"What the hell…?" Kurama only smirked before nodding his head back and opening his mouth, letting the concentrated energy release from inside his body. The technique blasted forth from the boy's mouth in a flash of red light, sending a beam of energy straight to the ceiling. Upon hitting the installation's concrete structure, the technique exploded, punching a large hole that lead straight to the outside world above. A shockwave rumbled and echoed through the installation, taking out the blaring sirens and flashing red lights. Only once the rubble cleared, did moonlight enter, spreading light once more around the area.

"**Bijuu…dama…"** Kurama shifted the bandage back before falling down on the ground, exhausting all of the boy's energy in the destructive technique. Naruto could feel the fatigue in his body and slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

Jiraiya stared at the blonde who now lay flat on his back. The technique, or at least the basics of the technique, looked exactly like Minato's rasengan. He would question about it later. A voice broke his train of thought.

"Whoa." Jiraiya turned his head to look at the speaker, and chuckled, realizing it was only Jin. The boy had fallen on his bottom and merely stared at the giant hole, only meters above them. "That was crazy."

"Yes. Yes it was. I was going to make an exit myself, but it seems like the boy's got it covered. More importantly, are you okay?" Jiraiya walked up to Jin and offered a hand that the boy took. Jiraiya lifted him up and helped him stand.

"Me? Yeah, I'm okay. The technique made it really hard to breathe, but it's over now. The shockwave just threw me onto the ground." Jin panted as he held himself together.

"Impressive. A normal person would've passed out from the pressure. I'm surprised you're still standing."

"Not without much effort." The two shared a brief laugh before looking at the blonde who was now snoring. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Of course, listen to him. He's sleeping when he should be working. Ah well, I guess he deserves _some_ sort of rest."

"He...he did it. He killed a man…" Jin's hand began to shake in memory of Naruto's brutal murder of the guard. "He told me not to be scared, but… looking at him. I don't know what to think anymore."

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya eyed the boy curiously.

"Look at him. He seems just like me. He looks a little different, but we're the same age. But here he is, killing people five times our age while I can barely raise my voice against my father… Tell me, how does it feel to kill someone?" Jin raised his head, and Jiraiya could see dark and hidden secrets underneath. The man thought about if briefly before answering.

"It's the worst feeling you could ever experience. Knowing that you just ended somebody's life before it was due. Knowing that that person's loved ones will never see that person again. It's sickening."

"Then how does he do it so easily…?"

"He doesn't."

"What do you mean, he doesn't?" Jiraiya shook his head before picking up the blonde and slinging the boy over his shoulders.

"That's not my story to tell. Ask him yourself."

XXXXX

Jiraiya unfurled the scroll on his back and unsealed the contents. Dozens of scrolls poured out. Picking one out, he opened it and began to read.

_Day 26:_

_This month has been going well. The steady flow of children from Kizukuri gives us plenty of subjects to test on. The new agent that accelerates bone growth and recovery has many slight side effects. It works, by Kami, it works, but the subjects are in a substantial amount of pain. They scream or die every day, but it is a necessary sacrifice. Their contributions shall push forward one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of this era. _

_2 minutes. That's all it takes: 2 minutes. From shattered pieces of calcium and bone tissue, a completely new femur, or collarbone, or wrist, or hip, or ankle can be grown in only 2 minutes! Its application in the field will prove most rewarding._

_Our stores are running low, but a new shipment of both children and medicine should arrive tomorrow evening. I know not of how this medicine is being created. The ability to grow bones. What a powerful tool. He has promised us fortune, and from our progress, that fortune is close at hand._

* * *

Man, this chapter was a pain in the ass to write. I have no clue why, but I just didn't get a good feel for it. I've been getting really tired lately and I have no clue why, although it's a poor excuse not to continue writing. I'm just hoping the quality hasn't gone down too much. Anyways, this story is far from over. I have a ton of ideas to dish out. The hard part is _how_ I'm going to dish them out. Most people thought that I should continue this Naruto + Jiraiya adventure with short time skips in between, so that's what I'm going to do. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter, so give me some insight by leaving a review. Thanks!

-Sakrosankt


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